Renee's 40th Birthday Bash

Every single event, celebration and wedding that I am a part of holds a special place in my heart. I am a sentimental broad, I will not tell a lie. Now I will admit I didn't know Renee until the moment she walked into her 40th birthday party but I spent plenty of time talking to her boyfriend, Kevin and her BFF, Lori, who happened to be the one and only Miss Taylor, my third grade teacher, my fourth grade teacher and my favorite teacher of.all.time. Ask anyone in their 30's that went to Union Elementary and they will tell you she is the best! What I think is so great is that Miss Taylor is now principal at Union and some of my schoolmates actually have kids that go to Union- and it is like we have come full circle. Again, Ashlee, with the sentiment. But, I can't help myself.
So I was contacted about this party approximately 2.5 weeks before go time. The group needed a venue, theme, decorations, cake, entertainment- you name it! So Signed Sealed Delivered Events to the rescue!
Our team consisted of cake by 10th Street Bakery, Poptions Popcorn, linen, centerpiece and backdrop rental from A1 Party and Wedding, candy bar display and candy provided by Next Door Finery, candy bags ordered from Unique Moments, music, photobooth and uplighting by Complete Music and of course all planning, coordinating and guaranteed good time by Signed Sealed Delivered Events which we hosted at DoubleTreee Collinsville
Thanks again for choosing SSD Events! It was an absolute blast and pleasure to be a part of this evening!
Happy Birthday Renee and here's to many more!

 

Nick Proposes to Ashlie

Folks say that girls spend years dreaming up their weddings. This may be true... but first they dream about the boy and then they dream about the proposal. And then the wedding. 

Proposals are one of the most intimate, heartfelt, most vulnerable, you-are-my-life-and-I-cant-spend-another-minute-without-you moments. The adrenaline, the nerves, the excitement. Carrying around the ring and worrying that the love of your life will find out its there before you are ready. 

I'm a sucker for romance flicks, books, stories, poems, songs, sayings, embroidered pillowcases, personalized ornaments, hallmark cards... you name it I guarantee I will tell you: Awww that is soooo cute! Which is the most overused phrase in my vocabulary next to: Aren't you sooooo excited???? I am soooo excited for you! 

Here is one of my most fave proposals of all times: 

The Demanding Proposal

And I could not have been more honored to be a part of the proposal below. 

When one of my past bosses Nick mentioned that he was going to propose to his girlfriend Ashlie, I of course was all eyes and ears. Now to meet Nick in person, he is pretty serious, get-the-job-done kinda guy, you never see a whole lot of sensitivity or joking right away. So you can imagine my excitement when he got giddy like a school boy when we about his ideas, when and where, the ring, etc. My last question after hearing him go through his plan of action bit by bit was: did you hire a photographer?

He said, no, I was just going to take my camera and ask someone to take pics for me...

And boy am I ever glad that I staged this intervention! 

First off, Nick was planning on proposal outside in the evening in a dimly lit area.... it was imperative to have a skilled professional behind the camera who could be there in advance, test the angles, lighting, etc. 

And that we did. 

After several emails, texts, phone calls, and checking the weather, we set forth a time and Michelle with Green Wall Studio and I loaded the car with layers and layers of winter gear and road tripped to Augusta, Missouri to the Annual Christmas Light Walk. 

I will cut out the boring part where we scoured every part of the town for options and finally settled on the park, lit by a Christmas tree made out of green wine bottles (hey, it is Missouri wine country out there) and text back and forth with the highly anxious Nick. 

We waiting in a building across the street from the park and waited till we saw them enter the clearing when we casually walked over the the snap shooting began...

part one no words, just squealing

part two no words, just tears

part three, she nodded yes 

and if given the chance to take your pic
with Santa, you would wouldn't you? 

And he is impressed... VERY impressed! Nice job Nick!

Here Nick was telling Ashlie how he asked her dad and her brother

I loved this quiet moment- this was actually a garden at a local bed and breakfast

This entire night filled my heart with joy.
Thank you Nick for letting us be a part of it.
I couldn't be happier for the two of you and wish you a lifetime of uncontrollable laughs, never ending happiness and moments like this which you will cherish.
xoxoxoox

The Magic of Winter style shoot

I believe that I am one of the few who truly LOVE winter. L.O.V.E. it. I love bundling up in hats and scarves and mittens and big puffy coats, drinking hot chocolate, boots with the fur (the whole crowd was lookin at her.. just kidding I won't start that again) and crunching through the snow. 

You do know when I say winter I am referring to everything covered in crisp clean white. The soft fluffy kind that kisses your skin, not leaves your nose and ears burning with the wind. No no no, just the good kind. Where it's 32 and the snow falls and it is complete stillness, yet you can hear it. To me, that is peace, that is possibility, and that, that it totally romantic! 

I've dreamed of a winter wedding since I popped out of the womb wearing heels and sipping champagne as my mom would say... but let's be honest, I have dreamed of every type of wedding. Anytime I meet/date a guy I imagine what kind of wedding we would have... There was St. Nick with the country barnyard reception, boys in jeans and vests, girls in creamy lace and cowboy boots (yes even the bridesmaids), a photo where the bridal party is shooting off guns - and this was the wedding I planned in 2005.

Then there was the city wedding from 2008 where my very dapper groom Doug would have gone Gatsby, me and the ladies in dark lined lips and birdcages, the room strewn with chandeliers in silvers and golds and boys in fedoras... a Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal choreographed dance, I was thinking the old post office. 

But my most favorite wedding I've dreamed of but haven;t quite placed the right groom is the outdoor winter wedding. I am determined to make it happen and what better way than to have a practice round via style shoot!

The team consisted of Elegance in Bloom Florist with flower extraordinaire Angie Lopez whom I met 1.5 days prior to the shoot and fell in love and said you MUST come! Bridal head piece from Champagne and Lace Bridal. 10th Street Baking Company baked the most perfect winter donuts and cupcakes and 8 tiered naked red velvet cake! We had two photographers Sarah Cress Photography and A Bushel and a Peck Photography by Amy which was great as just like a wedding we got a few different angles and styles. And again the rental by Next Door Finery and styling and coordination by Signed Sealed Delivered Events.

Our adorable and very gracious model couple are Stefani and Dan Cheseldine who were married on September 1, 2012 and have not only remained friends since I coordinated their wedding but have been one of the most memorable couples to work with. Once you meet them, you know why. 

I couldn't have pulled this all together with out my most amazing mom who can take my million visions of sugar plums dancing in my head and make them a reality. 

Here are some of the images that aren't featured on the facebook previews. 

Sarah Cress's images below.

An Afternoon at the Grafton Winery

I met the owners of the Grafton Winery a few years ago and now consider them friends. Mike and Lori are easy going, down-to-earth and have a passion for the vine incomparable to most. And it's not just the wine that they have the love for, it's the people who come to the Grafton Winery. They have regulars, harley crews, ladies nights out, date nights, family get-togethers, book clubs, and even the folks who come to sit alone and enjoy a glass of wine over a good book, just to get away, to be still.
The views are breathtaking, the service is great, the food is outstanding - even their wraps and sweet potato fries were like Thanksgiving to me, I couldn't stop eating even when I was full, the wine is YUM!
When I met with Mike and Lori about opening the venue up to wedding receptions on a more regular basis my first thought was: we have 1.5 weeks max before the gorgeous colors of fall are gone and we MUST get a couple up here and a photographer to capture this space. And that we did!
Our photographer is Michelle of Green Wall Studio, cakes and desserts from 10th Street Baking Company and theBAKERios. Bride and groom models are Alicia and Justin Powers married October 26, 2013- they were fresh off their honeymoon and looking as happy as ever. Props and style design by Next Door Finery and Signed Sealed Delivered Events.
Enjoy a few of our favorite snapshots of our afternoon at the Grafton Winery and definitely go check them out for yourself. We are looking forward to coordinating weddings there in 2014!

Those Who Can't Wed Plan

The famous Jennifer Lopez line from the movie The Wedding Planner has been ingrained in my head since college. I will be cliché and admit that that movie did indeed spawn the dream for me to be a wedding planner.

YOU BETTER BELIEVE I BOUGHT THIS JACKET BECAUSE
IT "LOOKED LIKE A WEDDING PLANNER"
SO J LO RIGHT??? 

LOVE MY BRIDES! LOVE BRIDAL SHOWS! LOVE WEDDINGS! 

As a hopeless romantic who gushes over every single love story ever made, who loves her job more than she thought was ever possible, I wonder, if love is my favorite thing, why has it been such a roller coaster ride in the relationship department? Do I have too high of standards? Am I too picky? Do I expect too much?

And now I’m wondering: is that movie line true? Certainly not… right?

I’ve pondered these exact sentiments and therefore opened myself up to the internet dating world a few years back. I kept an open mind. Got to know people before meeting them in person to check the chemistry. Even went out with folks I didn’t necessarily find attractive- which I think is HUGE if you want to have a family with someone… I mean… we all know where babies come from… it’s not always a bottle of Jack Daniels and a snow storm.

I also have a history of re-dating. Yes, re-dating. This is where I give second chances to already failed relationships. Partially because I thought maybe we have grown up, maybe things will be differently. Maybe he is done cheating. Maybe I was not letting love in. You name it, I accepted it. And then I dated it. AGAIN. And for some, AGAIN and AGAIN.

Here’s the thing though, at 31, I look back and I am super duper grateful for my experiences, my past relationships because they not only taught me a thing or 200, but the stories I bring back serve as entertainment to my friends and family. Just ask my BFF and roommate for 4 years, you can’t make this stuff up… well you could but I’m a horrible liar.

So if you are wondering why I am sharing this it’s merely because I have convinced myself that these little learning curves not only serve as lessons for who I am and what I am looking for, but seriously, to make other people laugh.

So here goes.  A few of my favorite dating/relationship sagas.

The one who had a very vulgar, very loud custody battle on the phone with his ex in front of me- a custody battle over a bunny for that matter. A bunny named Snickers. On our first date.

The one who fell asleep at the movies after insisting that we sit in the very last row and on insisting on holding my hand the whole time. Which made it impossible to escape…

The one who is 70 pounds heavier and a full 12 inches shorter than his on-line profile stated.

The one who meets you at the hole-in-the-wall bars, not because they are quaint and full of character, but because he doesn’t want to risk running into anyone that knows him or HIS live-in girlfriend.  Since when do you need to ask if someone is single during the dating process?

The one who played the perfect gentleman for the first 4 dates and then shows up fully loaded as a groomsman in a wedding you are coordinating.  A groomsman fully loaded is not what is surprising about this story…  What was surprising is that he did NOT acknowledge my presence... like he didn't know who I was. I spent the evening making sure he didn’t break anything ELSE and kept his shirt ON... You know that song, “Don’t call me no mo, Don’t text me no mo?”

The one who meets your 5 month pregnant friend and has an unusually strong and long hold on her tummy (you know folks just LOVE to touch a pregger belly)… only to find out later WHEN HE ADMITS IT- out loud - that he has in the past, dated (more like preyed on) single pregnant women because they have “low self-esteem, they are horny and they can’t get pregnant.” Who the frick says that? OMG you need counseling dude.

OMG now I need counseling….

The guy who you have been talking to on and off for months (you assume at this point that you are on), leaves you for a Hooters waitress. Not once. But twice. 

And while we are on the subject of scantily clad ladies…

How about the real fabulous date that ended at a strip club… really? Yes really. And we are talking it started at a museum, dinner, drinks, dancing, a first kiss on the dance floor … and then pole dancing…  And better yet, the pole dancer was a past girlfriend. And he acted surprised that she worked there… “I thought she was a waitress”… yea that’s a similar story to the best-selling nail polish from OPI bro.

The one who you are convinced loves you (because he tells you) and wants to be with you although he can’t be public about it right now because the next step is marriage and he’s not ready for that… though you suspect his flirtacious personality might get the best of him one day, he couldn’t possibly do the unthinkable… but oh yes he did, I found her Tiffany’s jewelry on the nightstand. And no, I didn’t keep it.

Fool me once, fool me twice…

This same one who shows up with a HUGE gift “just because” when “just because” really means: just because I cheated on you… again. FAIL. I will say for the record that I LOVE that gift and still have it hanging proudly in my man cave. 

Oh and we can’t forget the “perfect guy” who your friend (love you Tasha, but seriously) sets you up with that gets belligerently drunk over cocktails on a Sunday night only to ask me to fly to ONE of his SEVERAL vacation homes on the beach (paying my own way he added), so that we can “get naked together.”  Um sir, I don’t care how rich you are, my momma taught me better than that.

The one who was on hour and a half late picking me up because he “fell asleep” which really meant I have an addiction to muscle relaxers and couldn't physically walk let alone drive. 

The one who kept ordering food that was NOT on the menu and then getting upset with the waitress because “all he wanted was a nice steak and calamari dinner”…  from TGI Friday’s. I might add for your enhanced entertainment that this clown proceeded to spill his “nice dinner” all over his shirt. I felt like I was on candid camera.

The one who warned me to “not break his wallet” as he held the door for me… I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. He kept track of how much my “expensive” glass of Yellow Tail wine and cup of soup cost.

The one who pretends to like beer and baseball then throws a HUGE embarrassing fit in public over how much tickets and beer cost at the stadium. Um, you said you LIKED beer and baseball. Why are you surprised?

Oh oh here’s a good one: so we are talking 4 months into being with someone. You know when you are in the inseparable stage. Where you only part ways to go to work. Yes indeed. Well one night his car is parked at the bar across the street. Your usual Cheers hangout, so you walk in only to be greeted by him and the bartender … in a compromising situation…  This one actually convinced me that “she forced herself” on him.

The one who insists on buying dinner and then his card declines. The one who can’t figure out why the money he “transferred” isn’t in his account yet. And then we won’t stop talking about it…. Buddy, I already offered to get it. Let’s not make this any more awkward.

…This one also proceeded to tell our mutual friends that I totally “wanted it.” Wanted what exactly?  You to pay the bill? Damn straight.

Or how about the guy from your past who shows back up… again. Don’t act surprised, I already admitted to re-dating… Here’s where the excuse: “maybe he grew up” or “changed his mind” or “he’s ready for a relationship now” comes in. So he asks you out because well, “it’s just ironic that we keep running into each other.” And you go. Three different dates mind you.  Good times had by all. Or so you thought. Chemistry there. Or so you thought. And then the grand finale: Ashlee, if you can’t handle being friends, then let me know... Um jerk face, and a really cute jerk face at that, I don’t need any more friends.

How about we take a trip to Mexico. All inclusive. With your BFF’s and their significant others. Fabulous idea. What was not a fabulous idea however was watching him spend a good 2 hours the first night you are out at the salsa club trying to get phone numbers. Great. So not only am I the clown, but now I’m a clown in Mexico with 5 more days left with this guy.

One of my faves, so you have been talking to a guy for a few weeks, things are going good, until he gets drunk one night and admits that no less than a month ago his wedding was called off…  at this point he is crying because he didn’t want it to be over… and why I am here again? Oh yes, to pass the tissues.

Hold up, they all haven’t been bad. I actually recall 3 very specific dates, whom I met on eharmony a few years back that were great. Or so I thought. There was the nervous chatter in the beginning. The spilled beer (again nerves), the comfort zone where you begin sarcastic banter and some light flirting. The end of the night wrap up where you hug, say you had a great time and we should do this again. I always followed up with a text thanking them and included something witty and clever to remind them of my charm… 

And then NOTHING. No call. No text. No email. No morse code. No letter. Maybe they sent the: “I’m sorry but I just wasn’t feeling it” post-it via carrier pigeon and it was delivered to the wrong broad. Maybe. But three times. How rude. Seriously.

Now don’t worry. I am not jaded by any of this. I know I will find someone. I’m bound for a fairy tale romance. Disney style. I mean, what wedding planner isn’t?

I still accept dates now and then.  And I do plan on getting married, just after I do an extensive background check.  I guess the point of the story is that anything worth doing or having is going to be a lot of work, to take time and patience.  And good things come to those who wait. Patiently for Mr. Right, Mr. Wonderful, Mr. Forever, etc.   I will probably get bonus points for having a sense of humor and good attitude about it.

 And he will eventually show up when it’s time. Until then, I will keep an open mind, and continue dating and entertaining folks with my stories. After all… what else can possibly happen?

OH YES, I AM INDEED VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS LOL

***please note, I am well aware that I am breaking some grammatical rules in case my high school English takes a ganderloo at this-... my disclaimer is that it's part of my charm***